BL Anime: Ai no Kusabi OVA (2012)

Iason Revived.

Update: 28 September 2012. Good news! English-subtitled DVDs licensed by Media Blasters now available for preorder!

Title: Ai no Kusabi: The Space Between (2012), all four OVAs will be available in one DVD at only US$14.99 (Discounted price. Usual price: US$19.99) Compare that to almost US$400 bucks for the Region 2 Japan versions… ^^;; but we get what we pay for. I don’t think the Region 1 US versions will have the extra goodies but it’s a good start. Maybe if the sales are positive, the makers may be encouraged to make the rest of the dropped episodes. *Fingers crossed* Get it from Rightstuf. Available on 4 December 2012.

Summary: In the future on Amoi, a planet controlled by a supercomputer named Jupiter. Among the mostly male human population, the light-haired elite class is allowed to temporarily keep the dark-haired “mongrels” as pets. One elite member, Iason, encounters a mongrel named Riki in the slums and decides to take him in. However, Iason keeps Riki longer than it is socially approved, and rumors abound about their possible relationship.

As a side note, it takes some time to get used to Ookawa Tooru’s Iason, especially for fans of the original seiyuu for Iason, Shiozawa Kaneto. Partly because Ookawa Tooru reminded me too much of the yakuza he is often cast in BLCDs. However, he sounds better in the latest volume of the BLCD remake, so I’m hopeful. Itou Kentarou’s Riki is good so no complaints there.

Other info (from ANN):

Studio: AIC (worked on the original anime) Director Akiyama Katsuhito (worked on the original anime) Character designer Onda Naoyuki (worked on the original anime) Script: Yoshihara Rieko Sound: Abe Nobuyuki

In the meantime, we can re-watch the few previews to tide us over till they arrive in a few month’s time.

Update: Unfortunately, the project has been dropped :( Let’s hope someone picks it up again someday. Ai no Kusabi 間の楔 is going to be a 13 episode OVA!!! KYAAAA……………………….. I hope the DVDs are not too expensive *dies*

Update January 2010! Thank goodness Ookawa Tooru’s Iason so sounds much more in character (and not like a Yakuza in the drama CD remakes anymore!) I’m REALLY looking forward to it now that this mental hurdle was overcome. View the 8-minute episode 1 preview. Seriously HOTTT~ If they maintain the quality throughout it’ll be a really awesome release.

Update October 2009 Comiket Trailer

Update March 2009! Official preview shows a much better looking Iason and ooo~ such delicious Riki!

@Raiden: the original plan was 13 episodes before they dropped the project last time. They’re back now but didn’t confirm how many volumes. I just hope the sales are good enough for them to finish all 13 volumes.

@Kilalala: I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they’ll make enough money from the DVD/Blu-ray sales to make the rest of the episodes. According to the site, the first 3 vols are the first arc… so it’s NO WAY they can end it properly in vol. 4 if they want to stay true to the entire novel series. D: I’ll probably be quite upset staring at the 4 vols of Blu-rays on my shelf knowing that they’re incomplete (;A;)

@littlemonster: I think there may only be 4 episodes tho… they didn’t say if there would still be 13 episodes or not.

I’ve read about a report online a breakdown of costs involved in making anime by an independent animator. Each episode is measured in the tens of thousands (USD?), depending on the technologies used, like 3D and stuff. If we put this into perspective, it is actually a reasonable price. When people just don’t buy any of the releases, smaller studios in Japan just can’t survive. For such a niched work like Ai no Kusabi with a non-mainstream audience, it’s probably even worse.

Anyway,hopefully they can get the anime licensed overseas and it can be available at a better price :)

@Ponytale Yes I suppose so, and I see generally prices are higher for such media in Japan than they are here to begin with. Well I will eventually want to own them if the Blurays are region free so maybe I’ll import them one day when I have lots of spare change (hah), since they will never be localized. I don’t understand why they come with coupons for buying the whole set if you’re already buying them individually? I wonder how much the full set will cost when it comes out. The bonuses on the first prints special editions do seem fun though, but $128 each is far to steep for me, unless somewhere has them cheaper than CD Japan.

I’d really like to see this do well, the mess that was Togainu no Chi’s anime should have been scrapped and their budget donated to this project haha.

Sorry my thoughts are all over the place. xD

I remember being a young boy and Ai no Kusabi being the holy grail of yaoi anime to hunt for. I remember the first time I saw it was on a VCD mailed to me by an online friend from USA. I wonder if there is a DVD now of the original?

@littlemonster: Yeah, my only gripe is that they could have included English subtitles in the blu-rays at least but didn’t. If my understanding is correct, you need to collect all the coupons and they are to be used to exchange for a special freebie (全巻購入特典応募チケット). Yeah, the bonuses in the limited editions are interesting, esp the pet ring lol~ But for some reason, Iason and Riki are such classics in my mind that I never expected to see them in chibi form, ever. Felt strange when I see first saw the designs.

You can try Amazon Japan http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B005OMJQV8 They’re having a good discount. But they only use courier shipping for my region and it is too expensive, so I don’t use them anymore.

I felt the same about the original Ai no Kusabi too! I remember having to wait ages to download edited short clips of the series. They were in really small resolutions and sucky quality video orz;; But it was WOW to me when I finally watched the full video. Yep, there’s DVD of the original. I bought it from Yahoo Japan auctions a few years back. Original price is also 10,000 Yen but cost me more than that. (;o;) Can’t remember how much I paid for it in the end. orz;; Just checked, Amazon Japan still has stock http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B000OXPCQA/ref=sr_1_4

Ahh~ It seems that at last the Ai No Kusabi legend is coming to life again!! XD I checked the dvds on cdjapan and yesasia. But even the regular DVD is too expensive O___o Do we know if it ll have eng subs?[i doupt it]

i thought it got canceled now it’s back!!<3333 such great news, i can't wait! how many episodes will it be and what happened to make them cancel and then start back again?XD; he looks great in the screenshot!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! I cannot believe they are shelving it.. Now I am really sad! I loved the animation it was beautiful and amazing! Darn economy, darn not enough money! :P I love Togainu no Chi…but they are eliminating the yaoi in it! WAHH!!!!!!!!! -cries-

@Rai: yeah it is really sad news. Hopefully the project is revived soon… Well, unless maybe they do a special OVA for Togainu, it’s unlikely they’ll do full-on BL. But I’m still happy to have the anime ^^ and I think they’re doing a pretty good job so far!

can you guys pls let me know where can i get those bl DVD..specially ai no kusabi. coz i myself download from youtube n make into disc..i hope to get original 1 sum day.. pls email to my email address and let me kno where can i get the original 1.TQ my email : ryu_ciel@hotmail.com

Hi xx, these DVDs are not out yet ^^ I’ll update you when they’re available for sale.

Generally, for original US subbed versions, I get them mainly from rightstuf.com For Japanese versions (non-subbed), I get them from amazon.co.jp, comicomi-studio.com, etc. For a list of shops to buy BL items, please see this page I compiled. Buying Boys Love Items Online :)

TOTALLY! The animation quality looks really fluid and beautiful. The CGs don’t look “cheap” either. I think Iason’s seiyuu toned down his yakuza voice a lot? He seems to speak more clearly now without the Yakuza-ish accent. Not sure how Raoul’s seiyu Kuroda Takaya sounds now tho. He’s another one who is typecast as Yakuza in BLCD very often.

OMFG im so exited about this anime, i cant belive is gonna be 13 episode long yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa xD, ok haha, do you know when it is coming out, at least in what month i cant wait anymore

So far no official updates on the release dates… My guess is probably December *_* but at least we have other BL animes like Sex Pistols and Seitokaichou ni Chukoku to tide us over the lull periods in November. ^^ phew~ And Hyakujitsu no Bara vol. 2 is coming up soon! Yay~

Agrees… Iason’s new seiyuu needs some getting used to… start with the BLCDs remakes and train our ears now lol~ XD But he did sound a lot better in the 3rd installment of the BLCD. And hopefully the final art of Iason looks better than the one above ^^;;;

Have to be patient when it comes to R1 DVD. Usually takes about a year or so after broadcast for the DVDs to be available. So thank goodness for subs ^^

About the half-wing tendency in BL… I think it just has that special appeal, you know? It’s like a broken angel/devil, forbidden love and the descending into hell kind of thing. Of cos, I don’t mind the visual metaphor one bit. XD

I’m keeping a watchful eye over my budget this year. I’ll try to get my hands on AnK R2 DVD if I can but I also want to travel, so will have to plan for it.

AH! Good for you! >_< I’m seriously struggling with temptation here. I’m definitely buy Ai no Kusabi OVA DVD unless it is really badly made but I doubt so ^^

As for Tales of Genji, I’ll see if I like the subs but may wait for the R1. There’s a higher chance of it being licensed in the US than Ai no Kusabi since “general” anime has a bigger market. Even Shigurui was licensed and will be released soon. I’m saving up for that as well.

@fuuga: taste bit like palm err dunno lah…not cute-sweet as white sugar. Confusing but perhaps it’s just a bad brown sugar syrup like Kuromitsu anyway i really look forward to this because this is one of BL titles with premium story. Very intense..*nosebleed*

@akiyama: Gaaah… please don’t give us expensive frills in DVDs… x_x *prays* Yea, I already have a number of figure pre-orders up till April. But due to budgeting, I’ve either resisted placing new pre-orders or cancelled pre-orders for some figures that have caught my attention. So emo. *sighs*

Anyway Kurozuka was pretty good. Try to catch it if you have the time :)

I’ve read alot of comments about the mangas ending was better. I dunno, I’ve read the ending to the manga…it left me abit hanging at the end. Its like so he finally got her and now for years and years he has to fight monster forever because of there blood?TTATT i feel so bad for kuro….He should like stop looking and find another women are turn gay *shot* XD;;;

@fuuga: Yeah… the revelation about Kuromitsu was quite shocking. I think it was good tho ^^ I like how the anime built up the mystery to the end. I think nobody really ever does fall in love with Kuromitsu in the anime. They were all seduced and manipulated by her, whether by her looks, words or actions. I felt bad for Kuro… he was chosen cos Kuromitsu likes his face *_* given a choice, nobody would want to live like that… yeah I think he’ll be happier with Kuon or the other girl kekeke

@akiyama: I guess so… good thing they announced it early so I can plan my budget better *_* I hope they don’t do an Okane ga Nai and add so much unnecessary frills to the limited edition dvds that cost the sky. I think frills are nice but only if they’re reasonably priced.